Faith Notes

Music director Peter Waggoner was warmly welcomed when he joined St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Herndon Aug. 23. He comes to St. Timothy's after Sue Bogart, the past music director, announced her retirement after 20-plus years. Waggoner is a skilled musician and can play the 200-year-old organ in St. Timothy's sanctuary. Waggoner has been playing the organ since he was 8, and has a bachelor's in sacred music and is pursuing a master's in church music. He serves as the church's organist, bell master and choir master, choosing service music and conducting rehearsals for St. Timothy's five choirs.

With a generous donation of a complete set of choir bells Waggoner is teaching and conducting St. Timothy's first ever full bell choir. Anyone interested in joining St. Timothy's Church and participating in any of its many music programs should contact the church office at 703-437-3790.

Waggoner also gives private music lessons at St. Timothy's, and is accepting new students. For more information e-mail Waggoner at peterw@saint-timothys.org.

Saturday, Dec. 4, Dan Mazer, better known as "BanjerDan" will be appearing at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1090 Sterling Road, Herndon. Mazer is a master of the banjo and plays this instrument in a variety of musical styles, bluegrass, country, folk, jazz, blues, etc. He also plays the dobro, resophonic guitar, and other stringed instruments as well as singing. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission $10. For information or reservations call Ellie at 703-437-1883, or Bob at 703-435-8377. Payment on concert night. Snack service available. Holy Cross is handicapped accessible.

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church will be holding a Holiday Shop Saturday, Dec. 4, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., to support its missions program. Vendors will be selling jewelry, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Tupperware, Quiet Places, Christmas decorations and much more. There will also be several raffles. St. Timothy's Church is located at 432 Van Buren St. in Herndon. For more information, contact Marybeth Henry at 703-742-6694.

Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation will be holding its annual Chanukah Boutique Dec. 5, between 9 a.m. and noon. The boutique will have a large selection of items available, including decorative items and gifts. For more information about the Chanukah Boutique, call 703-777-8023.

Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation is a member of Union for Reform Judaism and serves Loudoun and western Fairfax County. Additional information about BCRC, its services and programs can be found at http://www.bethchaverim.org/ or by calling 703-391-8669.

One-act play with music and dance, an adaptation of "A Christmas Miracle," at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5, at Reston Presbyterian Church, corner of Sunset Hills and Hunter Mill Roads. Free admission. In this witty play, a way-too-busy businessman nearly meets his maker on Christmas Eve, but gets a second chance at life. Free babysitting, free refreshments, ample parking. For more information call 703-759-5515 or visit www.rpcconnected.org.

The Magic of Chanukah, Sunday, Dec. 12, from noon-3:30 p.m., at Congregation Beth Emeth in Herndon. Includes games and dancing; arts and crafts; magic show by Jay & Lee at 12:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.; and the music of Sally Heckelman at 1:15 p.m. Food available for purchase including kosher hot dogs, knishes, latkes, falafel, chips and plenty to drink.

Fairfax County is offing free help to parents at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, 432 Van Buren St. in Herndon, through its Nurturing Parenting Program. The 24 sessions will continue until Jan. 17. Each session begins at 5:30 p.m. and runs till 8 p.m. Dinner is served and child care will be provided free of charge for all participants. These meetings will be conducted in English and is designed to help families with children age 0-4. The program is designed for the entire family.

The Nurturing Parenting Program is a series of courses providing education for families to build stronger, healthier interactions among all family members. It is designed to prevent, reduce or reverse potentially destructive patterns of family life that result in mistreating oneself, members of one's family and one's community. For more information, contact Krissa Sloan at 703-324-7745 or via e-mail at Krissa.Sloan@fairfaxcounty.gov or Vera Berrio Breton at 703-324-7737.

The Herndon Ecumenical Discussion Group meets on the fourth Saturday of each month, 9 a.m.-noon, to study the unity and diversity of Christian heritage. The group will not meet in November or December. The next meeting will be Jan. 29, following the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, held Jan. 17-21. Meetings are in room 213 at Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, 750 Peachtree St., Herndon. All are welcome. For more information, call Betty at 703-437-1196.

Every Wednesday at noon, St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, 432 Van Buren St. in Herndon, offers a lunch-time Prayer and Healing Service. This 30-minute nondenominational service is offered to all local residents and people working in businesses in Herndon and surrounding areas; and allows people an opportunity to worship during the work week when they may be away from their regular church. All are welcome. For additional information please call the church Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at 703-437-3790 or visit the Web site www.saint-timothys.org. St. Timothy's Episcopal Church has been serving Herndon and its surrounding communities by its many ministries for more than 136 years.

Elena Borislavova Poptodorova, Bulgarian ambassador to the United States, will speak at Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, 1441 Wiehle Ave. in Reston, Thursday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. Her topic will be Beyond Hitler's Grasp, the story of how Bulgaria successfully resisted the demand of its Nazi occupiers to deport its 50,000-member Jewish community to Hitler's death camps during World War II. The program is sponsored by the Lifelong Learning Program of NVHC and co-sponsored by the Potomac Chapter of Hadassah. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call 703-437-7733.

Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, 1441 Wiehle Ave. in Reston, invites the community to its annual Chanukah service, led by Rabbi Robert A. Nosanchuk, Friday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. It will be a sermon in song, featuring traditional as well as new arrangements of Chanukah music sung by Kol Shira, NVHC's adult choir, conducted by director, Carol Fram. The service will begin with the lighting of the menorah in the sanctuary lobby, at which time the congregation will also dedicate its sanctuary in honor of Rabbi Emerita Rosalind A. Gold, D. Min., DD., who retired in May 2004. For more information call 703-437-7733.

Live Nativity at Christ Presbyterian Church, Dec. 11, 7-9 p.m. The youth of CPC will generate a live nativity scene to take us back to the night of our SaviorÕs birth. Hot cider and home-baked cookies will be served along with festive holiday music. All are invited to attend at 12410 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway in Fairfax, just west of Fair Oaks Mall on the right. Call 703-278-8365 for more information.

The most dominant metaphor in the teachings of Kabbalah is the male/female relationship. Behind the mystique and the beauty, the romance and the sensuality, what lies behind the attraction between the sexes? Kabbalah, the once-secret Jewish wisdom that explains the laws of spiritual energy and its link to the material, views gender as an essential quality of the cosmos. This comprehensive eight-week course will explore the essentials of the Kabbalistic system and how it relates to the key relationships in your life. The class will be held on eight Monday evenings from Jan. 17-March 7, 7:30-8: 45 p.m., at Chabad Community Center, 3939 Prince William Drive, Fairfax. For more information or Registration visit www.myjli.com or call 703-426-1980.